Monday, July 28, 2008

stapeliad in a strawberry jar...

every spring and early summer, there are these places that set up by the side of the road, that sell plants. If you know what you're looking for, you can find some good deals... Agaves for 5.00, hanging baskets for 8.... this stapelia was one of the hanging baskets... Well, got it home, and within a week, branches started falling off. Turned out that the thing was planted in entirely the wrong kind of potting soil, and had developed root rot... so I broke off all of the stems, cut off the rotten parts and let them dry for a few days.

Then I mixed up some new soil, and the only pot I had that was big enough was this strawberry jar. Planted it up, hung the strawberry jar with an iron ring made for orchids, and now it's about trippled in size... (the things are serious about growing when they get it in their little minds) and he seems to be doing fine... Now, I'm pretty sure that it's a gigantea, but I won't know for sure until it blooms, and, after that rough start, blooms might be a bit much to expect this year. But I kind of like how it turned out...

2 comments:

It sure looks like my Gigantea! I am thinking when mine outgrows the tire it's in, I will start taking whole clumps out for gifts!!! Or start some in the ground. It likes to spead so much, it would be a cool groundcover! Your blue pot looks especially nice with this plant! I know you will love it, and the blooms are so huge!!!!!